next story

Maybe you’ve known you’d honeymoon in Vegas ever since you saw, well, Honeymoon in Vegas. If you’re like most of today’s brides, though, you haven't been thinking about honeymoon destinations since 1992. So here are the questions to answer to narrow down your location choices.

Do you want to relax, sightsee, do adventurous activities, or some combo of the three? This is question number one since this answer will help you rule out many locations. For instance, if relaxing is the only thing you care to do, you can cross off most of (but not all of) Europe since there’s just so much to check out while you’re across the ocean. Likewise, if sightseeing is your thing, most of (though, again, not all of) the Caribbean would be a big fat bore to you. Lots of honeymoon destinations afford the best of both worlds, with a dash of adventure, too: namely, Costa Rica, Mexico, California, and Hawaii.

What’s your budget? This is obviously another important question because if you’re spending $1,000 or less on your trip, you pretty much have to stick to drivable honeymoon destinations or cities that are just a few hours by plane (aka cheap airfare) from your hometown.

Do you mind long flights? I can’t sleep on planes. Ever. I didn’t get a wink of sleep on a nine-hour red-eye to Italy. So spending a dozen or so hours cooped up in a plane was not on my honeymoon agenda. That eliminated a good portion of the world.

What kind of accommodations do you want? Had Paul and I asked ourselves this question earlier, we could’ve saved ourselves some trouble with researching honeymoon destinations. We were set on having our own cottage/villa/bungalow/hut (basically, anything but a hotel room). As we learned, these were plentiful in the South Pacific and the Caribbean and rarer elsewhere in the world. And considering that I wasn’t up for a day’s worth of travel, that left us with the Caribbean.

Does your honeymoon timing work for this honeymoon destination? For instance, I wouldn’t recommend that September and October brides head down to the Caribbean right after their weddings--it’s prime hurricane season then. Likewise, summer is no time to enjoy San Francisco or anywhere in the southern hemisphere for that matter. And winter can be rough in much of Europe and Canada.

Do language barriers bother you? As much as Paul and I would like to see Asia one day, we didn’t want to spend our honeymoon playing charades with locals when we inevitably got lost.

Is it safe? While I’ve had friends visit--and love--Mexico since the country’s drug gang problems escalated, it’s a risk worth considering. Check out the State Department’s travel warnings before you book.

Which honeymoon destinations are you deciding between? Are you looking for a laid-back vacation or a get-up-and-go one? Are there any other questions couples should ask themselves before they pick a getaway spot?